Bit rusty. How do you all keep in roleplaying shape?

[Amariithynar]

It's been what, three years before I really sat down and roleplayed? and as the title says, I've gotten rusty; it's taking me longer to think of what to do in a given situation, and more importantly how to frame it. Definitely need to work that rust out.

So, my fellow FWers, I posit this question to you all: How do you manage your own roleplaying skills, so that they don't rust (aside from just not stopping roleplaying)? What do you do to remain creatively limber?

Note I'm more talking about semi-para or paragraph-style writing, here, since two-sentence replies are relatively easy to deal with. When you just can't think of what to write, in your opinions is it better to cut it shorter and just get it written and out there, or is it better to make sure that you complete your actions entirely? As an addendum to that, do you think of yourself as an active or reactive writer- that is, a writer that does better when not too constrained by a setting's details, or a writer that does their best work when given a more solid setting to build their own posts upon? I, for example, consider myself a reactive writer, doing my best work when I already have a relatively firm foundation to build upon.

So, I'll leave it there, and hopefully this'll get a few hits, and I'll see what y'all have to say on this topic. Hope to hear from a lot of you.

[Vita]

READING!
I read all the bloody time as well as watch movies on occasion.
The more ideas you get, more knowledge you have the better and more original you can Rp.
I am not sure if this is the case with everyone, but it certainly helps me.
If you can manage, maybe write a book on something you love. This helps me a lot to keep creative.
Uhhh, Additionally, I would say if your have not Rped in a while, start Rping again, practice and most importantly have fun!
Hope this helps at all!

[Ginger]

I read a lot so even thought I stopped roleplayin for a brief amount of time, I was still being exposed to forms of writing.

I kinda just jumped back into roleplaying when Mikkaddo suggest a forum based roleplay.

I went from 2 to 3 years of no roleplaying to back into paraposting.

[Mikkaddo]

what they're saying is right. Read read read, watch movies, play videogames, play DND, anything that requires you to think on your toes and going through other narratives.

There's also narrative exercises you can find online, just google "Narrative exercise" "creative writing exercise" "story telling exercise" etc. that could help too.

[Bones]

I took a considerable break from roleplaying of any kind, but I was continuously writing during that time. So I'm not sure I went through a period where I was allowed to become rusty.

I think the secret to making sure what you're doing is lively and impact on the roleplay is making sure that everything you do is purposeful. Don't type out a 13 sentence post just to say that you made a 13 sentence post. Make sure every sentence has a purpose. Reveal things about your characters inner dialogue, as well as small character twitches and ticks, or base reactions to something. If you're writing for length, it's going to be less quality in the long run.

Also important to keep in mind 'what propels the story.' If the person you are playing against has just ripped your pants off, don't JUST write your reaction to that. A reaction is wonderful. It helps your partner play off of you. But where do they go after that? Give them something more to play off of. Your character might gasp and try to cover him/herself but what next? How would they get even? Would they find some place to hide, or take the oppositions pants as well? This is just a very basic example, but it's something that I've seen a lot of roleplayers really struggling with.

I could probably write a book at this point, but I'll stop there.
tl;dr Quality over quantity, and reaction + action makes for a post that moves a story forward.

[Micah Weil]

Truth be told, it's been hard. I have, in the past, written (which is, if you consider it a certain way, Roleplaying where you play all the characters). Stories kept me sharp for quite some time...at least until the stress finally got to me and the well dried up.

Or my muse ran away with the pool boy. I never should have hired Rico...he was way too suave...

Right now, I'm trying rather desperately to regain it. Perhaps the RPing will help me over the block. The world may never know!

[Amariithynar]

Yeah, I've never stopped reading, myself, and I fully agree with you all on that point. With me, the rust is more coming from lack of creative output rather than input, I think; I usually have no problem thinking up ideas for stuff in roleplay in general, but how to put together responses on the fly instead of taking my time to make sure I put together everything in the right order (and included everything I wanted to) and, as I said, how to frame it, not so much. I've gotten rusty, not completely forgotten everything! 

*snip*
Also important to keep in mind 'what propels the story.' If the person you are playing against has just ripped your pants off, don't JUST write your reaction to that. A reaction is wonderful. It helps your partner play off of you. But where do they go after that? Give them something more to play off of. Your character might gasp and try to cover him/herself but what next? How would they get even? Would they find some place to hide, or take the oppositions pants as well? This is just a very basic example, but it's something that I've seen a lot of roleplayers really struggling with.
*snip*

This. This this this this this. This is what I try to do, in all situations. If you just react to a post without including something further for the other person or people to react to, that's just leaving them with their arse flapping in the breeze, since now they have to both fill the space where they'd react (so basically reacting to a null pointer) and then their action on top of that, making it a double-dose of action which doesn't often flow very well. Sometimes I falter (working on that still; mostly a tired thing, thankfully)  but how do you deal with it when your partner does it? Also on that point, how do you determine where you should be cutting it off, temporally? Sometimes I find that I'm writing out a post that seems to be compressing too much time into it; is that a sign of the next point I've quoted below- it's not what you'd consider 'purposeful', especially in the realm of description of an action's minutae? In short, an example of "too much detail"? Or is that something where you should stop writing and give the other person time to write their own reply, so they can react to the initial half of what would be a single action, then continue the remainder of what was going to be a single post afterwards, to help keep the flow going?

*snip*
I think the secret to making sure what you're doing is lively and impact on the roleplay is making sure that everything you do is purposeful. Don't type out a 13 sentence post just to say that you made a 13 sentence post. Make sure every sentence has a purpose.
*snip*

This one sometimes gets really difficult for me; my biggest problem with it is trying to figure out what one would call 'important' to write out my response *to*, and figuring out cutoff points for it as well. Like when looking at the ToD the other day, the posts you and Ranix were writing were really good at that, very expressive, always came across as purposeful, while going over mine, even if they were detailed, still came off as stilted, awkward (Not gonna sugarcoat my own problems). Is that something you learn just from writing alot and figuring out exactly what you can cut and what needs to be kept to properly address the post you're responding to? The flow of the story, in other words?

*snip*
There's also narrative exercises you can find online, just google "Narrative exercise" "creative writing exercise" "story telling exercise" etc. that could help too.
*snip*

I'll give those a looksee. That might be the sort of thing I need regarding de-rusting, output-wise.

Preview edit: Sounds like you're agreeing with Bones on the continued writing helping prevent rust, and agreeing with my predicament in it being tough to derust, eh Micah? I hope we both manage to fix the issues we're having on that point.

[Bones]

Sometimes I falter (working on that still; mostly a tired thing, thankfully)  but how do you deal with it when your partner does it? Also on that point, how do you determine where you should be cutting it off, temporally? Sometimes I find that I'm writing out a post that seems to be compressing too much time into it; is that a sign of the next point I've quoted below- it's not what you'd consider 'purposeful', especially in the realm of description of an action's minutae? In short, an example of "too much detail"? Or is that something where you should stop writing and give the other person time to write their own reply, so they can react to the initial half of what would be a single action, then continue the remainder of what was going to be a single post afterwards, to help keep the flow going?

How do I deal with it when my partner does it?
When this happens to me, I just try to encourage a little bit on their part. I make sure my character is giving them something to react to. If they are receptive to feedback, I give them a little OOC feedback. Usually just asking them to think how their character would react and act. If they aren't receptive to feedback, I tend to try for a few more posts, giving them things to bounce off of, and if it doesn't go anywhere from there, I don't put myself through it anymore. The truth is that roleplaying is for entertainment. If I'm not enjoying myself, then I'm not enjoying myself.  No reason to put yourself through hell if it's awful for you. Let them know that you aren't enjoying the roleplay, or, if they are not likely to respond well to that, then you'll have to deal with that. Regardless, don't put yourself through something you aren't enjoying.

Where should you cut yourself off?
This really has to be an organic thing. You have to feel things out. As much as you shouldn't give your partner too little, don't give them too much either. Do you need to spend three paragraphs describing just how your character's body is positioned? Absolutely not. Should you spend a bit of time doing that? Yeah. It's a really fine line. Think of your post like a sketch. Your partner should be able to fill in the blanks. Give just enough information for your partner to be able to see what's happening, but not so much that they have to wade through a literal tonne of semantics and gimmicks. Does it matter that your wrist is at 54 degrees, and your index finger is completely extended, but your other fingers have a sloping curl? Well, if your partner should be focused on your hand, sure. But if your partner is kissing your neck and can't even see your hand, then no, of course not. This is a very simplified version of what I'm talking about, but I'm sure you get the picture. Alternately, if you're describing a scene, setting, clothing, furniture, then be sure to go all out on that! What color are the walls? What kind of decorations? Is there any beading on the dress? What about a slit? Is your tie matte or shiny? Paint the picture.

The gist of this is that your partner should be able to see what's going on, but keep in mind that what your character is thinking and feeling is just as important. Describe when you should, but make sure to keep the interaction the focus of the post. The important things to describe should be obvious (sexual: orgasm, initial penetration, foreplay; nonsexual: environment, clothing).

This one sometimes gets really difficult for me; my biggest problem with it is trying to figure out what one would call 'important' to write out my response *to*, and figuring out cutoff points for it as well. Like when looking at the ToD the other day, the posts you and Ranix were writing were really good at that, very expressive, always came across as purposeful, while going over mine, even if they were detailed, still came off as stilted, awkward (Not gonna sugarcoat my own problems). Is that something you learn just from writing alot and figuring out exactly what you can cut and what needs to be kept to properly address the post you're responding to? The flow of the story, in other words?

What's important/how do I respond?
This kind of goes with my last point, but, essentially, whatever you feel is important. For example, my character reacting to Ranix's size and the sudden realization that he was going to be too big for her to take was important. That was something my character would laser focus in on. So probably there were a few subtleties in his posts that got grazed over. That's okay, and accepting that that will happen is important. That's going to happen for your partner as well with your posts. You have to be okay with letting that go. You have to know your character well, or at least have a good idea what is important to your character. Should you sentence for sentence with every post your partner makes? Absolutely fucking not. Do I need to have a specific reaction to every subtle movement of his tail? Eyebrow? Legs? Forearm? No. Does his eyebrow specifically arch in a way that would call attention to it for something I've said? If so, that's important to note and notice if it's something my character would see. Which is another important part to remember: do not react to something your character wouldn't know about or see. If it's internal, or if it's something your character isn't looking at or paying attention to, then you need to not react to that directly. This is a common thing that really throws things off.

A note on creative writing exercises.
Keep in mind that these will only help you to a certain extent. They'll help your writing, for sure. But they won't help you discern when to react to things. The difficulty that comes with roleplaying is that you don't know what exactly your partner is thinking. When using writing exercises, try to write your character separately and make sure they know only what they should know. That'll be a definite help when it comes to roleplaying.


Anyway, I don't want to come off sounding cocky or like I think I know it all. These are just my opinions and how I write and roleplay. These are the things I've found people struggle with, and the things I've known to be important.

[Amariithynar]

How do I deal with it when my partner does it?
When this happens to me, I just try to encourage a little bit on their part. I make sure my character is giving them something to react to. If they are receptive to feedback, I give them a little OOC feedback. Usually just asking them to think how their character would react and act. If they aren't receptive to feedback, I tend to try for a few more posts, giving them things to bounce off of, and if it doesn't go anywhere from there, I don't put myself through it anymore. The truth is that roleplaying is for entertainment. If I'm not enjoying myself, then I'm not enjoying myself.  No reason to put yourself through hell if it's awful for you. Let them know that you aren't enjoying the roleplay, or, if they are not likely to respond well to that, then you'll have to deal with that. Regardless, don't put yourself through something you aren't enjoying.

Fair enough! I've always treated it more like just another persona of the person behind the character being interacted with within a different setting than real life, but it's still fundementally that other person that is being interacted with; thus seeing it not as something solely for entertainment, but for that interaction with people that you desire to interact with; this puts a rather large wrench into the works of being able to just dismiss if a roleplay starts going south, due to this difference in views on that point. In the end, though, it does still come down to if your enjoyment outweighs your desire to continue interacting with that particular person, though, so, maybe not that much of a wrench after all?

Where should you cut yourself off?
*snip*
Describe when you should, but make sure to keep the interaction the focus of the post.
*snip*

I think that this, right here, is the essence of what I need to change with how I write. I grew up reading things like Tolkien and Heinlein and Asimov- that era of writer and older, and not always well-known writers, either, often tending to be historical fiction; as such, I find my writing tending far more towards the descriptive, but lacking that focus on the interaction, because for them, they were creating entire settings that would endure long after them, rather than a short description appropriate for immediate interaction. If I can just keep that in mind, I think that that's going to help me on that point a lot more than anything else.

What's important/how do I respond?
*snip*
If it's internal, or if it's something your character isn't looking at or paying attention to, then you need to not react to that directly. This is a common thing that really throws things off.

I think this, at least the latter point, is where my trouble lies, mostly. I naturally pay attention to much more than most people I know, and that bleeds over for Amariithynar. Still, that's given me a point of reference to think about and work on; just because I notice it, doesn't necessarily mean that I need to react to it, either. What's the phrase? "Pick your own battles"?

A note on creative writing exercises.
Keep in mind that these will only help you to a certain extent. They'll help your writing, for sure. But they won't help you discern when to react to things. The difficulty that comes with roleplaying is that you don't know what exactly your partner is thinking. When using writing exercises, try to write your character separately and make sure they know only what they should know. That'll be a definite help when it comes to roleplaying.

Not knowing what my partner is thinking is something I have no problem with! #Dense Writing the character separately and making sure they know only what they should know as in their knowledge is based off their experiences and interactions as written rather than any metaknowledge is pretty standard for D&D. The writing portion is mostly what I need the help with, there, so that's good.

Anyway, I don't want to come off sounding cocky or like I think I know it all. These are just my opinions and how I write and roleplay. These are the things I've found people struggle with, and the things I've known to be important.

It still gives me (and maybe others who have their own issues and are reading this thread while lurking) some insight into how others, more specifically someone who writes rather well, operates, which lets me then compare it to my own and see more specifically where my deficiencies, capabilities, and differences in style come into play, and what might need to be changed on a point that I regard as deficient.

[Bones]

Fair enough! I've always treated it more like just another persona of the person behind the character being interacted with within a different setting than real life, but it's still fundementally that other person that is being interacted with; thus seeing it not as something solely for entertainment, but for that interaction with people that you desire to interact with; this puts a rather large wrench into the works of being able to just dismiss if a roleplay starts going south, due to this difference in views on that point. In the end, though, it does still come down to if your enjoyment outweighs your desire to continue interacting with that particular person, though, so, maybe not that much of a wrench after all?

I can understand that. But keep in mind that that person probably doesn't want you to suffer through something you aren't enjoying. Just like in a relationship in the real world (romantic or otherwise), communication, openness, and honesty are vastly important. If there's something their character is doing that highly turns you off, find a way to say it in character, or out of character. If there's something you want them to do, communicate that too. Put yourself in their shoes: if your partner wasn't enjoying the way you are doing x or y, would you want to know so that you can make it more enjoyable for them? Even if it's not about entertainment, and instead about interaction, don't you want to please your partner and have them please you? It isn't personal, it's about both of you enjoy your interaction.

I think that this, right here, is the essence of what I need to change with how I write. I grew up reading things like Tolkien and Heinlein and Asimov- that era of writer and older, and not always well-known writers, either, often tending to be historical fiction; as such, I find my writing tending far more towards the descriptive, but lacking that focus on the interaction, because for them, they were creating entire settings that would endure long after them, rather than a short description appropriate for immediate interaction. If I can just keep that in mind, I think that that's going to help me on that point a lot more than anything else.

Important to keep in mind (and some of us spoke about this in chat recently) that those authors were often paid by word or by line. You aren't being paid by line, even in gratification.  I know that that doesn't make it easy to move away from that sort of writing when that's your comfort zone, but keeping in mind that that kind of thing isn't entirely for pleasure will help, I think. Like I said before, add description to the things that need it, but if it isn't crucial, then let your partner get to the good stuff more quickly. As an example, I'd rather know how a dessert would taste and smell and feel in my mouth, than how exactly you cut into it with the utensil and moved it to my mouth. Tell me about how rich the chocolate is, what I'd smell, and if it's creamy or has a crunch. Focus on that part, rather than describing in minute detail how you cut it. Hope that's a good example. 

I think this, at least the latter point, is where my trouble lies, mostly. I naturally pay attention to much more than most people I know, and that bleeds over for Amariithynar. Still, that's given me a point of reference to think about and work on; just because I notice it, doesn't necessarily mean that I need to react to it, either. What's the phrase? "Pick your own battles"?

Paying attention to something is one thing. If you're being observant and you notice the little twitches and ticks of a partner is fine. What I'm talking about is things your character literally wouldn't know about. That would include things like inner thoughts, possibly some back story, and things out of your field of vision. You, as the writer sees it, but the character won't. You can play off of it, but don't react directly to it.


This has been a nice discussion, either way. Thanks for starting it up! 

[Amariithynar]

I can understand that. But keep in mind that that person probably doesn't want you to suffer through something you aren't enjoying. Just like in a relationship in the real world (romantic or otherwise), communication, openness, and honesty are vastly important. If there's something their character is doing that highly turns you off, find a way to say it in character, or out of character. If there's something you want them to do, communicate that too. Put yourself in their shoes: if your partner wasn't enjoying the way you are doing x or y, would you want to know so that you can make it more enjoyable for them? Even if it's not about entertainment, and instead about interaction, don't you want to please your partner and have them please you? It isn't personal, it's about both of you enjoy your interaction.

Thus the remark about balancing it between desire to spend time with that person versus having to deal with that issue. Most problems I encounter on that point are not with someone doing something to turn me off, but someone not doing enough to give me something to really reply to; obviously it's going to be different for everyone, but that's usually the issue I find myself dealing with, and usually have just worked through it because I didn't want to make them disappointed or discouraged by saying that they're deficient in some way, for me.

Important to keep in mind (and some of us spoke about this in chat recently) that those authors were often paid by word or by line. You aren't being paid by line, even in gratification.  I know that that doesn't make it easy to move away from that sort of writing when that's your comfort zone, but keeping in mind that that kind of thing isn't entirely for pleasure will help, I think. Like I said before, add description to the things that need it, but if it isn't crucial, then let your partner get to the good stuff more quickly. As an example, I'd rather know how a dessert would taste and smell and feel in my mouth, than how exactly you cut into it with the utensil and moved it to my mouth. Tell me about how rich the chocolate is, what I'd smell, and if it's creamy or has a crunch. Focus on that part, rather than describing in minute detail how you cut it. Hope that's a good example. 

Yeah, I don't think of it as getting paid by the word or the line in the least, hah. The example of what would be best to focus on is a good reference, though, especially since it can be extrapolated out to other situations. Using that, I've already been able to compare it against several things I've written and see what's Fork Description and what's Dessert Description. Less Fork per bite, more Dessert. Easy way to think about that, yeah?

Paying attention to something is one thing. If you're being observant and you notice the little twitches and ticks of a partner is fine. What I'm talking about is things your character literally wouldn't know about. That would include things like inner thoughts, possibly some back story, and things out of your field of vision. You, as the writer sees it, but the character won't. You can play off of it, but don't react directly to it.

Ah, I see. Yeah, metagaming like that is not a problem for me, but it might be for some others that might read this post. Thanks for clarifying that this was also referring to metagaming as well.

This has been a nice discussion, either way. Thanks for starting it up! 

Agreed that it has. I learned long ago that pride in something not done well isn't something worth being prideful of, and that it's much better to just admit your mistakes and ask for help from sympathetic ears. Actually putting that into practice, though? That's not quite so easy, especially if you're the sort to internalize things instead, which makes it difficult to share anything, let alone things that may feel wrong to admit.